Butterfly Effect
The Butterfly Effect is a gameplay mechanic in Until Dawn, which forces the player to make decisions which will affect the outcome of the game. Depending on their choices, a certain character could die or the relationship between characters could change, bringing them closer or further apart. Once you already make a choice, you cannot go back, and change it as the game automatically saves your decisions. Butterfly Effects There are twenty-two different choices to be made in the game, with multiple decisions in each. A few Butterfly Effects will not appear if certain events which is necessary for the Butterfly Effect don't happen. Any of Your Business *Sam decides whether or not she should see who's calling Chris or zip up his bag. Their relationship will increase if she does not snoop and will decrease if she does. If she does snoop, Chris will later insult Sam, stating that his actions with Jessica are justified since she did the same to his privacy. If she did not, Chris will still steal Jessica's letter, but will not bring Sam into it. Rats With Bushy Tails * Chris decides whether to shoot the bag, shoot the squirrel, or shoot nothing for the final shot at the shooting range. If he shoots the bag or does nothing, his relationship with Sam will increase; if he shoots the squirrel, their relationship will decrease and Sam will be attacked by a crow, which can affect later gameplay and Butterfly Effects. The Soul of Discretion * Ashley decides whether to allow Matt to look through the telescope to see Emily hugging Mike or to conceal the fact. If she does not allow him, their relationship will increase; if she allows him to, Matt will believe she is cheating on him and will later confront Mike about it, decreasing Matt and Mike's relationship, possibly to zero, depending on whether or not Matt chose to fight Mike. Whose Side Are You On * Matt decides whether to side with Emily or Jessica during their argument; if he sides with Emily, his relationship with Jessica will decrease, and if he sides with Jessica, his relationship with Emily will decrease and she will be hostile later on, adding to a different Butterfly Effect. (Note: If Ashley allowed Matt to see through the telescope and Matt later fought Mike, this Butterfly Effect will not exist.) Be Her Hero * Mike decides to immediately help Jessica or to guide her through rescuing herself. If Mike is too reluctant when he helps Jessica find a way out (or pranks her and/or makes too many of the wrong decisions), she will not be impressed with him and not agree to have sex, affecting how clothed Jessica is later on in the game. Something for Later * Sam has the option to pick up a baseball bat in Chapter 3, while Josh tinkers with the hot water heater. If she shows him, she has the option to either be serious about it or joke. If she is serious, her relationship with Josh increases, while if she jokes, their relationship maintains its position. Later on, if she did show him, when she chooses the second "Hide" option and either attempts to run or moves during the "Don't Move" segment, she is able to escape through using it. If she did not show him, she will not have the option to use the baseball bat and be caught, which will affect later Butterfly Effects. To the Rescue * Mike decides to either choose the risky paths or the safer ones while chasing after Jessica, attempting to save her. If he chooses all four safe paths, Jessica will die; if he chooses three, all quick-time events must be hit in order to save her; if he chooses only one or two, an uncertain amount of quick-time events can be missed without her dying. If Mike fails to succeed in reaching her in time, Jessica will die and be absent, later on, in Chapter 10. Jessica's status will be stated here. ...And Which One Will Die * Chris decides to either save Ashley or Josh, after The Psycho knocked them both unconscious and forced them into a trap. The choice Chris makes will affect his relationship with Josh (as his relationship with Ashley remains the same either way), as, later on, if Chris announced that he would save Ashley, Josh will antagonize Chris which will decrease their relationship. However, no matter which way you turn the lever (or if you choose to do nothing at all), Josh will still be "killed" and Ashley safe. At What Price * Chapter 5: Mike has the option to interact with a possible collectible or item in Chapter 5, which is a moving hand with a name tag placed on it. If he chooses to do so, two of his fingers will be caught in a bear trap: he has the option to either amputate his fingers or manually open the bear trap with the machete he found earlier. If he chooses to amputate his fingers, he will still have a usable machete and, later on, Sam can express sympathy. If he chooses to manually open the bear trap, he will no longer have a usable machete and, later on, will use his shotgun to shoot one of the wendigos and use the lighter to set Sam free (if she was captured in Chapter 6 ), instead of using the machete. * Another event regarding this butterfly is how much progress Mike did without getting himself in peril. If Mike sucessfully incinerate the Sanatorium, Sam will rescue Mike in the mines. If he fails to do so on the way out, or getting attacked by a Wendigo when not even close to the way out, Sam will rescue Mike in the Sanatorium. Man's Best Friend * Chapter 5: Mike, when first meeting Wolfie, has the option to either kick him or to not. If he chooses to not kick the wolf, he will join Mike's adventure later on in the game. In the same room in which Wolfie inhabits, Mike can find a chest containing bones, in which he can give to him. If Mike previously kicked the wolf, they will have made amends and Wolfie will still join Mike, and if Mike chose not to, the Butterfly Effect will state they have become friends; if the bone is not picked up at all, the first decision will affect later gameplay in Chapter 9, in which Wolfie will join Mike or run ahead on his own. There, if Mike was nice to Wolfie and as long as certain quick-time events are hit (if not, Wolfie will die), and Mike barricades the door instead of running (the latter will result in the wolf's death), Wolfie will survive. If Mike chose to kick the wolf and did not give him the bone to make amends, Wolfie will not join Mike and will act hostile with him. However, no matter what, Wolfie will always save Mike if certain quick-time events are failed, and, if the door is barricaded, he will never join Mike past that point, but he will still be alive. On the Same Page * Chapter 6: This decision has a lot of possible outcomes depending on if Matt decides to agree with Emily at the cable car station. If he agrees with Emily and he is given the flare gun, he will shoot it at the top of the radio tower. If he does not agree with Emily and is given the flare gun, he will not shoot it and be able to use it later against a Wendigo if he tries to save Emily in the mines. Run or Hide * Chapter 6: According to the known timeline, this will be a series of choices Sam makes when she tries to either run or hide from The Killer . If she runs instead of hiding under the bed, runs instead of hiding behind the shelf in the boiler room, and hides instead of running down the long hallway in the Old Mountain Hotel, she will escape and has the chance to explore The Psycho's workshop. Otherwise, The Killer will capture her and use her as bait for Ashley and Chris to lead them into another trap. (Events might be altered by the outcomes from the butterfly effects Rats with Bushy Tails ''and ''Something for later) In Self Defense * Chapter 6: According to the known timeline, this decision likely occurs when Matt decides whether or not to kill the deer that backed him and Emily to the edge of a cliff. If he kills one or more of the deer, the herd will back Matt off of the cliff, requiring the player to hit several fast-paced QTEs in order to save him. If Matt does not hit any of the deer with his axe, they will let him and Emily pass. Who Gets the Gun * Chapter 6-7: According to the known timeline, this decision occurs when Emily either keeps the flare gun she finds at the radio tower or gives the gun to Matt, and whether if the keeper shoots it off or not. The person who does not get the gun will have no defense against the Wendigo, which can be fatal in future choices. However, if either of them fail to use the gun, events will present just like when they are defenseless. Save Yourself * Chapter 6, 10: According to the known timeline, this decision occurs when Matt either attempts to help Emily up or jumps to safety after the cables on the radio tower are cut. If Matt and Jessica are alive past this point, Matt finds Jessica, and he can either choose to save both of them or abandon Jessica in the mines in chapter 10. The events also states Jessica alone in the mines if Matt died. Matt's status will be stated here. Forewarned is Forearmed * Chapter 6: This decision depends on whether or not Ashley grabs the scissors under the camera catalog. If she does, she can use them to stab The Psycho, which will result in her getting punched in the eye. Later on, Chris will punch The Psycho in retaliation. Stick Together * Chapter 6: The first event is whether Ashley choose to stick with Chris or not during their rescue of Sam. If she sticks with Chris, she will fail to discover the figure walk past. * Chapter 8: The second (optional) one comes when Chris and The Stranger go to search for Josh. If Chris makes a noise when the Wendigo appears, The Stranger will be killed. This death is actually inevitable, but this action makes the player feel responsible for his death. It will also be possible for Chris to die as well if he misses critical QTE's on his way back to the lodge. Point Blank * Chapter 6, 8: This decision comes when Chris has to face the dilemma of shooting Ashley, or himself, or decide not to do so at all. If he choose to shoot Ash, she will not open the door, killing Chris outside the lodge. Otherwise, she will open the door, saving his life. Once Bitten * Chapter 8: This event will not be showing up if Emily does not get bitten. Ashley insists that Mike shoot Emily out of fear that Emily will become a Wendigo and kill whoever is left in the lodge. If Mike does not shoot Emily, and if Ashley reveals the truth about the bite, Emily will slap Ashley upon the discovery that Wendigo bites are not contagious, and later shoves Ashley into a door when they are being chased by a Wendigo, leaving Ashley a higher chance of death if both characters are still alive. Left Behind * Chapter 9: This decision depends on Ashley and Chris's choices of either rejoining the group or leaving them. If Chris is not left behind, he will be alive (throughout the entire remaining game), and if he was left behind, Ashley can come back and drag him along before she goes to the manhole. Later on, Ashley can choose to investigate the voice or rejoins the group. If she investigates the door, opening the trap door will lead to her demise, and Chris's inevitable demise if he was left behind. However, if Ashley rejoins group and Chris was left behind, he can be killed by investigating the voice and opening the trap door. Important Discovery * Chapter 10: This decision depends on whether or not Sam discovers Hannah's diary located in the mines that says Hannah has transformed into a Wendigo. If she does not discover this recording, Josh will be killed by the Hannah Wendigo when he is alone with Mike. If the vital records have been discovered, Josh will be dragged away alive by his sister and will become a Wendigo. Josh's status will be stated here. The Result of Chaos * Chapter 10: This decision is based off of who is still alive at the end of each player's respective playthrough of the game, as it tells the status of characters, regarding Sam, Mike, Ashley, Emily and Chris, in order. Gallery ButterflyEffect.png Effect4.png|Be Her Hero Effect1.png|Whose Side Are You On Effect2.png|Save Yourself Effect3.png|Stick Together Effect5.png|Man's Best Friend Category:Game Mechanics